Saturday, November 15, 2008

Next stop: The Inquisition

American Catholic bishops are "warning" President-elect Obama against the Freedom Of Choice Act, a proposed federal law that would guarantee women full access to abortion and other reproductive services by canceling any state-based attempt to interfere with such access. The bishops, who of course want to impose their theology on America whether we citizens want it or not, are up in arms. They claim that "Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans."

Really? Alienate tens of millions of American from what? The Constitution? The law? From Mr. Obama? From Congress?

The bishops also claim that "It [FOCA] would deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry." First, the "abortion industry" is known in normal, non-sanctimonious language as medicine and medical services, which of course are well-regulated by the states. Second, as for "modest restraints," the bishops lie by euphemism. They want to eliminate abortion, period. Their idea of restraint is any and all legal obstructions that prevent women from controlling their own bodies; they want to keep piling on the "modest restraints" until access to abortion is thwarted by a legal network of exceptions, procedures, and protocols that women cannot penetrate or surmount.

The real threat here is to the bishops: FOCA puts the anti-abortion crowd out of business, thus curtailing a source of funding for the Religious Right and their cronies. Abortion and gay rights are the two cash cows of the Religious Right, which has been milking them for every penny for the last 30 years. If abortion goes, then the Religious Right goes belly up for want of money; they know it, their friends the Catholic bishops know it, the right to choice folks know it. That's the real reason why the Catholic bishops are threatening Mr. Obama: money makes religion go around, so don't mess with the money!


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